myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Two weeks four days ten hours fifty four minutes to go till holiday according to countdown timer on computer (am I sad or what). Just booked hire car from Sheppy's which comes with free hire of mobile phone, but I've no idea how much does it cost to phone mobile in UK from Tobago mobile or how much does it cost to phone UK landline from public phone in Tobago. My son said something about Skype but I told him we will be taking plenty of insect repelant so should be OK

Hi Martin

Mobile to mobile will cost an arm and a leg - mobile to land-line, just the arm.

My mobile couldn't access the local phone network for some reason during our recent stay, so we bought an international phone card for TT$100 (less than a tenner) from Jimmy's mini-mart, at Crown Point, close to the Pigeon Point junction.

This gave well over two hours of international calls from pay-phones and/or private land lines; allowing my wife to call home every other day to check on the kids (both in their 20's!) and catch up on the latest gossip. We still have over an hour of calls left on the card and it's valid for up to 1 year after purchase. A good enough reason to go back eh?

Perhaps not as handy as using the mobile, but a whole lot cheaper, I can tell you

Cheers
Steve

Martin S wrote:My son said something about Skype but I told him we will be taking plenty of insect repelant so should be OK

Martin, if you haven't this previous thread, it may also help with some of your unasked questions.

http://www.mytobago.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4296

Beside the cost for calling to/from own mobil phone to/from Europe, their network doesn´t always work very well. Skype and/or phonecard is often a better choise.

I forgot to mention that you don't have to buy the cards @ TT$100.
They are available in values as low as TT$10 I think.

Cheers
Steve

Hi Martin,

If Sheppy is providing a free cell phone with your rental, it will probably be a DigiCell, B-Mobile or TSTT. I know that for DigiCell and B-Mobile you can buy cards almost anywhere that you just scratch off to get a code number and enter it into the phone and you are ready to call. Like Steve says you can buy any number of amounts. The most common are 20 and 100TT. I think you may have to go to a TSTT office to get one of their cards. There are hundreds of little stores all over that have the D-C and B-M cards. Almost any one can buy a bunch of the cards from the company and then resell them and make a little profit. The places will most likely have a little sign on the shop that says for example DigiCell Top Up Here. You can ask anyone anywhere where you can buy a card and they will direct you. In Scarbough the stores have terminals (I know for DigiCell) which you can buy any amount and your code number comes out on a print out which they give you to enter.

I personally have a DigiCell phone that a friend gave me and I buy their cards to call back to the States when I am in Tobago. Sunday is the cheapest time for me to call. I figured it is about .09 or .10 cents US per minute to call the States on Sunday. During the week I think I figured it to be about .40 to .50 cents US per minute. I used to buy a phone card and have to go to a payphone or regular phone to make calls but it was a pain in the butt. I stay in Charlotteville and you never know when the pay phone is going to work. The cell phone is great. I can give out the number and now receive calls.

When you get there buy a 20tt (about $3.30 US) card for the phone and make a call home. It will tell you when you have, I think, 1 minute left. Then figure out how much in your $ per minute it is costing and then decide if you will continue to use it.

I know that in Charlotteville Curtis at WorkShop Sea Tours has phones that people can use to make calls. All you have to do is buy a card and use one of his phones to make out going calls.

By the way Sheppy is fantastic.

Hope this helps. Phil

Many thanks for all the phone advice. 1 week 3 days 8 hours to go

martin, the cost of calling the uk from a local network cell phone works out to be very cheap indeed - depending on time etc etc. it can be as low as TT$1.17 per minute off peak. buy the top ups just about anywhere as posted above.

tax is charged on the top up at 15% so TT$50 talk time will cost you TT$57.50 etc etc

paul